Promise Me Forever
by ThisAccountIsNowInactive354085
Summary: It's nearing the end of schooling for both Sachiko and Rei, but the burdens they, along with the younger Roses, bear are far from over with...Main pairings.
1. Prologue

**I miss my favorite pairings, so I've decided to try and start another story…this is xXLiStLesSXx, by the way, I got tired of the name…although I get the feeling changing my name has taken away whatever reputation I had as well :/**

**Summary: Graduation is fast-approaching for Sachiko and Rei, while the younger Roses have battles of their own to fight- Yumi is prematurely mourning the loss of Sachiko from her life due to her impending marriage to Suguru, while Shimako is tormented by growing feelings for her seemingly-oblivious petite soeur. However, on the other end of the spectrum, Touko suffers from unrequited feelings towards her onee-sama, while Noriko harbors a hidden love for Shimako, one that she hides by distancing herself from her onee-sama more and more. In the midst of so much turmoil, both inside and outside of their young hearts, is it even possible for anyone to end up happy?**

**Please review!**

**oOOOo**

**Promise Me Forever**

**Prologue: Through the Lens of a Camera**

_**iAtethePoisonedApple**_

**oOOOo**

It was a normal day in the Rose Mansion- at least, any oblivious onlooker might come to that conclusion.

Takeshima Tsutako, however, was _far _from oblivious.

She had watched these girls grow, watched them mature as they battled their way through high school with the immense burden of the Yamayurikai duties weighing them down; watched them transition from carefree schoolgirls to the pseudo-royalty that ruled Lillian Jogakuen.

And, perhaps most importantly of all, she had watched as they all slowly (but surely) fell to absolute pieces for each other.

(She could, of course, say that they had merely fallen in love with each other, all of them, but the words could hardly address the severity and complexity of the situation.)

Even now, standing in the corner of the council room, going practically unnoticed by every eye the silent room around her, despite having made an appointment, Tsutako was hardly upset by the slight. Because if there was one thing that she loved, it was people-watching, and the silence of the Yamayurikai spoke more about the girls than anything they could manage to put into words ever could have.

Because even now, even in this brief moment of absolutely _nothing_, Tsutako could look around the room and observe this extremely complex love _web_, and she knew she could never, ever call what was happening merely 'falling in love'.

First (always first), Tsutako's eyes snapped to Yumi, as if taking a mental picture of the girl. A year ago, she wouldn't have been able to catch the plucky brunette being silent for more than a few seconds, be it out of spoken words or clumsiness. But now (_now_) Yumi was merely staring at the small stack of papers that she was supposed to be signing, her writing hand still. Her face was relatively expressive at the moment, changing every few seconds from what Tsutako assumed to be a daydream- at least it was until she glanced up at Sachiko, and it was as if she'd forgotten everything around her. Her lips formed a lovesick smile and her eyes shone once again, something that was becoming rarer and rarer as the upcoming events wore on her.

Tsutako smiled slightly, unable to help herself- at least Yumi would always be the same, at least a little bit.

Her gaze moved to Sachiko next- she could hardly help but to follow Yumi's absolutely enthralled gaze. The raven-haired heiress was more difficult to read than Yumi- it was the fact that she wasn't really _that _much more discreet than Yumi that caused the photographer to raise an eyebrow. There was nothing, no change visible to the untrained eye, but Tsutako hardly stopped there. Upon closer inspection, the photographer noted that, when Sachiko's gaze met Yumi's, it was almost as if an electrical c_urrent _had shot between them, and Sachiko's pupils positively _blew _as she held the gaze of her blushing petite soeur. Besides her eyes, her expression was positively blank, devoid of all thoughts or emotion.

Of all the Roses, Tsutako honestly believed that Sachiko may have fallen the hardest.

And then there was one last Chinesis- one who wasn't even pretending to work as she scowled darkly at the not-so-subtle scene unfolding before her. This one- Touko- had been a particular pleasure to watch. An unconventional cliché, really, a rare treat. She'd started out as a bratty girl who wanted nothing more than to claim Sachiko for herself, and now the tables had turned on her entirely. Touko had gone from a real hatred of Yumi to falling head over heels for the future Rosa Chinesis (but hadn't they all?), and Tsutako merely had to look into the girl's eyes to see how much this was all confusing her. It really was painfully obvious- she was supposed to hate _Yumi_, so why had she accepted the rosary? And why did she find herself glaring at her beloved cousin for reasons she couldn't quite understand?

As if on cue, Touko blinked out of her scowl and frowned, her eyes riddled with an almost palpable confusion, and Tsutako felt her heart go out to the girl. It really was the worst feeling in the world, wanting something but having no idea why you want it or why it hurts when someone might be taking it away.

And Sachiko _would _take Yumi away, Tsutako was positive of this- even if she never disobeyed her family, even if she went on to marry and have children with Kashiwagi Suguru, Yumi would love her unconditionally and forever.

Speaking of unconditional love…

Rei and Yoshino.

Tsutako smiled in amusement at the very thought. She was fairly sure the entire school knew of Yoshino's feelings for Rei- even though she didn't wear her emotions painted across her face like Yumi did, it would hardly change things if she _did_. Yoshino voluntarily made her feelings clear, especially when it came to her (irrational?) fear of anyone stealing her onee-sama and cousin away.

Glancing away from the two cousins, who were currently arguing about nothing in particular, Tsutako's gaze landed on the last pair of soeurs, who were somehow closer than their chairs allowed.

Shimako, Tsutako thought, was probably the most difficult to read of all the girls. She was perhaps the most beautiful girl the photographer had ever seen- long, chestnut-brown hair and large gray eyes and a petite figure. But as with Sachiko, the giveaway was in the eyes- those gray eyes that always seemed so far away became focused around her petite soeur, and, at the moment, were tracing Noriko's every move when she was so sure nobody was looking.

And it seemed that quiet, independent Shimako lost the ability to keep her hands to herself around Noriko as well; at times, Tsutako swore Shimako was channeling Sachiko as she continually found the silliest of excuses to touch Noriko, even a little bit. And Tsutako could count on one hand the number of times she had seen one person be so impacted by another- around Noriko, shy, mild-mannered Shimako could easily shift into the role of an over-protective onee-sama, keeping her petite soeur close to her with a (sometimes) figurative arm around her lower back, as if she were afraid Noriko would slip through her fingers otherwise.

And Noriko.

The rambunctious girl in question glanced up from signing papers, staring and staring at Shimako until the brunette met her gaze, and then flashed her a brilliant, cheesy grin. When Shimako blushed and returned the gesture with a small, sweet smile of her own, Noriko's eyes lit up, her features melting into true content at her accomplishment.

Fierce, loyal, free-spirited Noriko was completely and absolutely _devoted _to her soft-spoken onee-sama. If Shimako was in a room when Noriko arrived, the younger girl would immediately gravitate to her side. If Shimako appeared to be upset about anything at all, Noriko was there, acting as the shoulder for Shimako to rest her head on. But for all the attention she paid Shimako, Tsutako would bet her camera that Noriko was the most oblivious of all of the girls when it came to her onee-sama's feelings for her, even more so than the ever-fretting Yumi.

Tsutako's gaze returned to the room at large, and she realized that her presence had yet to be acknowledged. She could hardly find it in herself to blame them, though- for as outwardly quiet as they were, they were all still teenage girls, teenage girls with fragile hearts and confused minds, minds that were constantly screaming for them to do one thing, while their hearts demanded they do another. And that alone, Tsutako thought, was probably loud enough to drown out a single person's presence in a silent room.

And they were all falling.

Falling faster towards the end of these charmed school days, falling faster in _love_ with each other, and Tsutako left the room quietly, vowing to return another day, and hoped that they would be able to see what was so obvious to her before somebody got hurt.

**Please review if you want this continued~ way I see it, there's no point in posting if I can't tell if people are enjoying it, right? **


	2. Beginning of the Jealous Game

**TGIF guys, it's been a LONG fucking week.**

**So fanfiction is FINALLY letting me sign in, so I can post now :3**

**This chapter mainly focuses on the white Roses, just as a beginning to the plotline of their story. I'll focus more on the red Roses in the next chapter.**

**Please review!**

**oOOOo**

**Promise Me Forever**

**One: Beginning of the Jealous Game**

_**iAtethePoisonedApple**_

**oOOOo**

Todou Shimako was lost in her own world, staring out the window of her classroom, cheek cupped in her hand.

Truth be told, not much would change for her this year, so she hardly had a right to be so melancholy, or at least, the rest of the second years seemed to think as much. She'd already said goodbye to her onee-sama the year before, and it wasn't as if being Rosa Gigantea would be a new and difficult task for her, both of which were trials that Yumi and Yoshino were currently facing.

She'd been through it all before- so why, then, was she feeling so out of herself?

The answer was waiting outside of her classroom for her as soon as the bell chimed, signaling the end of class. When Shimako quietly slipped out of the classroom in a way that only she could, her heart gave a traitorous leap as she came face to face with her grinning petite soeur.

A hand instantly flew to her chest in some kind of vain attempt to stop the pounding of her heart before she could stop herself, and Shimako flushed slightly. Luckily, Noriko seemed to take it as a sign of shock, and wore a sheepish expression as she looped her arm through her onee-sama's.

"Sorry, onee-sama," the dark-haired girl said, cheeks flushing slightly. "It's just that class let out early, and I wanted to wait here for you…"

Shimako's eyes widened in surprise and her cheeks flushed before she finally gave Noriko a shy smile. "You don't need to apologize, Noriko," she replied, brushing a strand of dark hair out of her petite soeur's eyes. "You just startled me, that's all." She smiled when Noriko blushed slightly, and broke her arm away from Noriko's only to wrap it around the younger girl's waist.

"Rosa Gigantea!"

Shimako paused, causing Noriko to pull to a sudden stop ahead of her, waiting for several smaller girls to catch up. As soon as she saw the younger girls, Noriko huffed and broke away from her onee-sama's grip. Shimako frowned and opened her mouth to question Noriko's actions, but the young girls started speaking before she had the chance.

"Are you planning on staying Rosa Gigantea for this next year as well?" a petite but loud girl questioned, looking up at Shimako with bright eyes.

Noriko rolled her eyes. "That's a ridiculous question, Megumi-san," she snapped at the girl, who glared right back.

"If it's so ridiculous, why don't _you _answer it then, Noriko-chan?" the redhead shot back over a flustered-looking Shimako, who was caught in the middle of the two hissing schoolgirls. "Or do you not know your onee-sama well enough to know the answer?" Megumi smirked, and Noriko bristled at the accusation.

She assumed Shimako was planning on running, but she wasn't entirely sure, and therefore couldn't reply to the question. Turning back to Shimako, Noriko pleaded with her eyes and received a slight nod in response. "Of course she's planning on keeping her position," Noriko replied hotly, to while Megumi sneered and stormed off with her friends in tow.

Stomping over to a bench moodily, Noriko sat down, scowling at the ground with her arms folded over her chest, all thoughts of getting to the rose mansion having abandoned her mind for the time being. Several moments later she felt Shimako's presence beside her, but refused to acknowledge her onee-sama.

"Noriko…," Shimako began, confused as to her petite soeur's behavior.

"Why do you let them fawn over you like that?" Noriko asked hotly, saving Shimako the effort. "You know they want to be your petite soeur, right? Why else would they be so persistent? And you already have one." The dark-haired girl huffed, cheeks flushing when Shimako giggled. "What's so funny?"

The brunette smiled gently and reached over to tuck a strand of dark hair behind her sulking soeur's ear. "I'm aware that I already have a petite soeur, Noriko," she said softly, pressing a brief kiss to Noriko's cheek. The younger girl blushed to the tips of her ears at this. "If anyone should be jealous, it's them."

"I- I- I'm _not _jealous!" Noriko stuttered loudly, pulling away from Shimako, face resembling something close to Yumi's by this point.

Shimako simply accepted Noriko's denial with an enigmatic smile, standing up and holding her hand out to the younger girl. Noriko huffed and took Shimako's hand, allowing the older girl to pull her to her feet. Keeping her hold on her petite soeur's hand, Shimako led Noriko to the Rose Mansion for the day's meeting.

**PGBR**

After the meeting, Noriko was walking out of the Mansion with Touko, having left Shimako behind to discuss the end of the year proceedings with the other Roses.

"I really can't stand that Megumi," Noriko muttered, and Touko nodded in agreement.

"She's a real brat," Touko replied, to which Noriko shot her a raised eyebrow. Touko rolled her eyes. "It's _different_. What did Megumi-san do, anyway?"

Noriko huffed in distaste. "She won't leave onee-sama alone- it's like she thinks she can be her petite soeur," she muttered, flushing, eliciting a giggle from the drill-haired girl beside her. "What? You'd be annoyed too if someone was like that with Yumi-sama!"

"Everybody's like that with onee-sama," Touko pointed out matter-of-factly. "I've learned to deal with it." She didn't mention that the reason she'd come to terms with all the affection Yumi was showered with was that there was a much greater rival to her disorienting feelings for her onee-sama.

"Well, I'm not just going to sit around and 'deal with it'," Noriko muttered.

"Have you talked to Shimako-sama about it?" Touko asked, jogging slightly to keep up with Noriko's heated gait.

"No," Noriko muttered, "but she guessed, you know onee-sama. She just told me that I shouldn't be jealous about it."

Touko shrugged. "Then maybe you shouldn't be," she replied. "If Shimako-sama tells you that you don't have anything to worry about, then maybe you shouldn't be worried."

Noriko sighed, deflating. "It's just irritating," she muttered. "I mean, it's not like she ever gets bothered when anyone chases _me _around-"

"Who chases _you _around?" Touko asked, a slight tremble in her voice as she tried to hold back a giggle. Noriko shot her a hard glare, and Touko grinned. "Shimako-sama isn't the jealous type at all; you can't really be upset when things don't bother her as much as they bother you," she added unhelpfully.

"Sometimes I wish they would, though," Noriko replied softly. "I mean, it's not that I want her to be upset or anything, but…"

"So you'd know she cares, right?" Touko replied. "I guess I can understand that, but doesn't Shimako-sama already pay you a whole lot of attention? She's always touching you, almost as much as Sachiko-oneesama touches Yumi." Her voice turned slightly bitter at her own words.

"I know she cares about me as her _soeur_," Noriko replied. "But I want to be _more _than that." She frowned at the ground. "I don't think she sees me as anything but her little sister…"

Touko perked up, her lips quirking into her trademark mischievous smile as she darted out in front of Noriko. "Well if all you wanted to do was test the waters," she began, clutching her bookbag behind her back, "why didn't you just say so?"

Noriko eyed the smaller girl suspiciously. "Why do I suddenly feel so suspicious?" she asked dryly.

Touko huffed and rolled her eyes, turning back around to walk beside Noriko. "There's no reason to feel suspicious- you want to know if she wants you, right? As more than a _sister_?" she asked, chirping out the last word as if merely to tease the taller girl.

"Well yeah…but I don't trust you, Touk0-chan," Noriko stated bluntly. "Whatever you have in mind is going to upset onee-sama-"

"And that's what you want, right?" Touko asked. "To see if she's bothered by it?"

"Not if it makes her unhappy."

"It wouldn't," Touko muttered, but, at Noriko's hard gaze, sighed loudly. "Fine, suit yourself. You know, you have a perfectly good chance here- your onee-sama already doesn't seem to see anyone but you. If I was the only one in my onee-sama's eyes, I guarantee you I wouldn't be moping around like that. I'd do something about it." She hesitated, glancing up at Noriko, wh0 was staring determinedly in the opposite direction. "You know, before it's too late, and she really _does _see you as a sister. Just a stupid, naïve little sister," Touko muttered, her eyes clouding over with what might have been the beginnings of tears before she shook herself out of it and shot Noriko a bright, too-believable smile.

Noriko frowned down at her friend, more out of concern than anything. Truth be told, she was slightly upset with how oblivious Yumi was to Touko's growing feelings for her, and _god _help her if she _knew _and was merely ignoring them. Even Sachiko wouldn't be able to save her from Noriko's wrath if that were the case. The headstrong girl was fiercely protective of her friends, especially Touko who, beyond her bratty, spoiled demeanor, was probably the most terrified person Noriko had ever met. Terrified of being alone, terrified of being left behind, terrified of falling for someone, of _needing _someone. She sighed.

"Let me just make sure we're on the same page here- you _are _referring to making onee-sama jealous somehow?" she asked, arms folded over her chest as the breeze picked up.

Touko nodded, her curls bouncing. "It's not like I'm suggesting that you actually start dating someone else…just a little change. Like spending a bit more time with Asakura-san, maybe? It's not like she doesn't want you around, and it wouldn't kill you to make another friend."

"The captain of the tennis team?" Noriko asked hesitantly. "I don't really know her that well."

"But she'd like to know _you_," Touko stated. "She's had her eye on you for a while, I heard she was going to ask you to be her petite soeur until Shimako-sama made a move. She'd be more than happy to spend some 'quality' time with her favorite kouhai, I'm sure of it." The brunette punctuated the statement with a wink. "Just think about it, okay? If you really want to know if Shimako has feelings for you, you have to get her to stop thinking of you as just her little sister."

Noriko rolled her eyes and said goodbye to the girl as they parted ways at the gate, Touko climbing into her family's car as Noriko began the slow walk home. She had pretended to be above it all, and really, she wished she were, but the idea seemed strangely appealing to her, as much as she wished it weren't. And it wasn't as if spending time with Honda Asakura would be any kind of burden- from what she'd heard, the older girl was actually quite the heartthrob.

She sighed and kicked a pebble across the pavement, wishing she could just read Shimako's _mind _or something, because all these feelings were very tiring.

**I don't know if there's a tennis team captain, it was relevant to the story and my brain is much so whatevs :P Review, por favor!**


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